Abdullahi Qarshe ( so, Cabdilaahi Qarshe, ar, عبدالله قارشي) (1924–1994) was a Somali musician, poet and playwright known as the "Father of

Somali music The Music of the Somali people () is music following the musical styles, techniques and sounds of the Somali people. Overview Traditional Somali music Somali people have a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali folklore. Soma ...

". In 1957 he wrote and composed the Somali National Anthem,

Qolobaa Calankeed "" (; ; ) is the national anthem of Somalia. Written and composed by Abdullahi Qarshe, it was adopted on 1 August 2012 with the passage of the Constitution of Somalia, Somali national constitution,

Biography

Early life

Qarshe was born in 1924 in the Somali

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

community in Moshi, Tanzania. He belonged to the Mousa Arreh subdivision of the Habar Yoonis sub clan of Garhajis

Isaaq The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Per ...

that mainly inhabits the Togdheer region of

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

. Before migrating to Tanzania, his family was based in the town of Maydh, in the Sanaag region in eastern Somaliland, where they were the keepers of the tomb of Shaykh Ishaaq, the common progenitor of the wider

clan family. In 1931, at the behest of his family, he left Tanzania and settled in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

for his education, where he subsequently memorized the entire

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. It is in Aden where Abdullahi also had his first encounter with cinema and radio playing western films and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Arabic music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...

, which inspired him to buy a

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

to accomplish his new goal of creating music in the

Somali language Somali (Latin script: ; Wadaad writing, Wadaad: ; Osmanya: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 ) is an Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic languages, Cushitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by Somalis in ...

. He was married to Adaiya Qarshe whom he had four children with, Rukiyo Qarshe, Safiyo Qarshe, Anab Qarshe and Mahad Qarshe.

Career

Qarshe, along with other first generation artists such as

Ali Feiruz Ali Abdi Feiruz, known as Ali Feiruz, ( so, Cali Fayruus) was a prominent Somali musician. He belonged to the Habr Awal clan of the Isaaq clan family. Biography Feiruz was born in 1931 in Djibouti. He later moved to Hargeisa, Somaliland in the ...

and Mohamed Nahari, was among the pioneers of modern Somali music. An innovative musician, Qarshe often employed a wide variety of instruments in his art, such as the guitar, piano and oud. He was also known for his poems and his theatrical work at

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

and Hargeisa venues. The

Balwo Balwo is a style of music and poetry practiced in Somalia as well as Djibouti. Its lyrical contents often deal with love and passion. The Balwo genre was founded by Abdi Sinimo. Origins The Balwo genre was founded by Abdi Sinimo, a Somali of the ...

genre, was however founded by

Abdi Sinimo Abdi Sinimo ( so, Cabdi Siniimoo, ar, سنيمو) (born 1920, died 1967) was a Somali singer, songwriter, poet and musical innovator. He is noted for having established the Balwo genre of Somali music, which was the forerunner of the Heelo genre ...

as was mentioned by Qarshe. In an interview with Abdullahi Qarshe published by Bildhaan Vol. 2 page 80, he affirmed that "modern music was in the air at the time of Abdi Sinimo, who is widely regarded as the genius who formulated and organized it into the belwo and thus took well deserved credit and honor for it."

Heellooy

Qarshe introduced a new and shorter form of Heello by combining traditional Somali poetry with song. In the 1940s he created his first song ''Ka ka'ay'' (Arise). Qarshe utilized many of his Heello songs to express Pro-independence and anti-colonial sentiments. In tribute to Patrice Lumumba he wrote the song ''Lumumba ma noole mana dhimane'' (Lumumba is neither alive nor dead) in 1960 . In 1957 he composed the current Somali National Anthem ''Qoloba Calankeeda waa cayn'' (Every nation has its own unique flag). In 1955 Qarshe founded the Walaalo Hargeisa troupe which performed various plays around Somalia, one of them being ''Soomaalidii Hore iyo Somaalidii dambe'' (Somalis past and present). Qarshe's 1961 song ''Aqoon la'aan waa iftiin la'aan''(to be without knowledge is to be without light) was the signature tune of

Radio Mogadishu Radio Mogadishu ( so, Radio Muqdisho, ar, راديو مقديشو) is the federal government-run radio station of Somalia.

. In addition, Qarshe was a member of the pioneering Somali musical ensemble

Waaberi Waaberi ( so, Waaberi), was a Somali musical supergroup. History The troupe was established by members of the Radio Artists Association. It was supported by the Somali government as part of the National Theatre of Somalia, and made tours thro ...

and would influence nearly all subsequent ''Heellooy''.

Notes

References